1954 Chevrolet Pickup - The Collector

Craig Gacom lives the life of a bachelor on a property in the desert of North Scottsdale that’s tailored to him and his unique lifestyle. He doesn’t have a kitchen table; instead he has a mammoth slab of granite that seats at least 15 and sits in the middle of his kitchen with stools along the perimeter. His entertainment center is a surfboard, and his pantry is an old gas pump, which he someday wants to get working again so it can dispense beer. Oh, and his desk is the front half of a ’51 Chevy truck, complete with wheels and a hammered stance.

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So it should come as no surprise that he’s a bit of an eccentric guy, and that his fleet of vehicles should reflect that character trait. Craig is a professional collector, and he often buys cars and trucks just for their resale value, keeping them for a few weeks or months until he flips them for a new one. Very few vehicles end up staying in his stable for a long period of time, and when they do, they have to be something special.

That’s definitely the case with his ’54 Chevrolet AD, a truck which he first saw at a car show back east a few years ago. There it was, sitting on the show grounds at some event, with its current owner cleaning the inside. Craig approached him about buying the truck, but the AD’s builder didn’t want to get rid of it—after all, it had some emotional connection. But Craig didn’t give up, and after a few years of pursuing, he eventually took delivery of the truck and trailered it back to Scottsdale, Arizona.

The truck itself was so special because not only was it on a modern Chevrolet S-10 chassis, but it also sat almost on the ground without any adjustable suspension at all. That’s right, this AD sits lower than most bagged models, and still rides down the road just fine. Although the truck had the look that Craig was going for, there were still a few adjustments that he wanted to make to really put his stamp on the exterior. Since he’s also a horse guy, Craig decided to have custom bumpers and accessories made from various cowboy parts, including a spur mounted like a hood ornament and horseshoes flanking the license plate. Then those parts were rusted to match the patina of the rest of the pickup, making it look like they were there for the past 50 years.

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Many of the vehicles that have spent time in his collection have come and gone, but Craig has owned this one for quite a few years now, and has no plans to get rid of it anytime soon. He’s even building a matching Cadillac to roll with the AD to shows, one that sports a very similar patina as the truck. So if you see Craig at an event, polishing the wheels and cleaning the interior, don’t ask him if he’s interested in selling his truck. After all, he’s just going to turn you down … Maybe. CT